Update- Time Limit for submitting unfair dismissal claim

In the case of Miah v Axis Security Services Limited, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) considered whether the time limit for submission of an unfair dismissal claim would be automatically extended where this expired on a non-working weekend day. In this case, Mr Miah’s time limit for submitting his unfair dismissal claim expired on a Sunday. He in fact submitted his claim the following day, on the Monday. He argued that the 2013 Tribunal Rules gave him an extra day to bring his unfair dismissal claim. The relevant Tribunal Rule provides that where an act is required to be done on a day other than a working day, the act is done in time if it is submitted on the next working day. “Working day” is defined as any day except for a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a Bank Holiday. The EAT examined the relevant Tribunal Rules and decided that this particular Rule only applied to time limits prescribed by the Rules themselves. The time limit in question (for unfair dismissal) is prescribed by the Employment Rights Act 1996, rather than the Tribunal Rules. Therefore, this time limit was unaffected by the Tribunal Rules and Mr Miah’s claim was out of time.

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